Getty Miami Heat Pat Riley speaks at American Airlines Arena in 2016.
No team outside of Beantown came as excrucatingly close to capturing the NBA championship last season, only to fall short during winning time, as the Miami Heat. Had the ball bounced a different way on one or two occasions in a Game 7 situation against the Cs, there’s no telling how the Finals would have played out.
As a result of their incredible near-miss, the book on the Heat this offseason has been that Pat Riley would explore every option in bringing another star to South Beach. Considering his track record — with Shaq, LeBron and Chris Bosh, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, etc. — it wasn’t hard to envision the Godfather accomplishing his goal, either.
Flash forward to mid-September, though, and the Heat have whiffed on Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, Bradley Beal and anyone else they may have been chasing.
And while the word on the street is that Riley’s pursuit will continue into 2022-23, another potential trade target looks to have removed himself as a possibility.
It Doesn’t Look Like Dame Lillard Will Be Asking Out of Portland
For years now, the hoops blogosphere has been flush with reports about Damian Lillard potentially requesting a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers. It stands to reason, too, that he’d have a wandering eye.
Last season, the team finished 27-55 after having been in the playoffs for eight straight seasons — a streak that already included some earlier-than-expected finishes. And, at 32, Lillard only has so many years left to get his ring.
However, during a recent appearance on The Dave Pasch Podcast, Lillard seemingly dismissed the notion that he would ever force his way out of the Pacific Northwest.
“Yes, I do [plan on being a Blazer for life],” Lillard declared. “I’ve had my share of people saying ‘Man, you got to get out of there! You’ve got to do this, you’ve got do to that.’ But I’m the type of person that I’m never going to be marching to the beat of nobody else’s drum. I’m gonna always do what I feel like is in my best interest and that I really feel in my heart.”
That doesn’t sound like a man with his sights set on Miami or any other place outside of his current locale.
A Matter of Loyalty
According to Lillard, that reluctance to go the KD route and attempt to orchestrate his own exit is the byproduct of a deeply-rooted personality trait.
“I’ve said this on many different occasions, they call it ‘He’s being loyal!’ and ‘Loyalty this, loyalty that’ and I’m like, I’m naturally a loyal person but I do have a level of loyalty to the organization, but this loyalty that they’re talking about is ultimately to who I am as a person.”
Despite the way in which things have played out for him so far, the baller still has a belief in his and his team’s ability to break through on the biggest stage, too.
“I think I can get it done. Now, everybody else might say ‘There’s no way the Blazers will ever win. They need to do this, they need to do that.’ But that’s just not how I feel about the situation. I feel like we’ll have a chance to win, I feel like that moment is going to come, I feel like that opportunity is going to come. And that’s that.”